10,000 Miles Away
by PALADIN039
Summary: What happens when two best friends are stranded in a new world and must learn to not only fit in, but to defend it? Rated T for mild innuendos and violence. My raise to M later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Millennium 117 and I have worked quite hard on this so I hope you enjoy it. I don't plan on putting a note at the beginning of ever chapter so you can calm down there. This is my first attempt at fan fiction, so please R&R and don't hold back on the criticism. I can't fix my flaws unless I know what they are. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did coming up with the ideas for it. **

**Millennium's PS: Our friendship helped inspire this story, and we hope you enjoy reading it as we have talking about, and then writing it! This is our first attempt at a novel-ish type story, so bear with us as there is some mistakes and we are on this journey with the rest of you. **

Usually when you go to hang out with a friend, you don't get atomized, or transformed, or shot at. That is, unless your friend happens to be a genius scientist named Jet J. Black. He had invited me over for another day of testing his latest and greatest invention using a machine that was not yet illegal, but only because the law didn't know about it. Now, I am not a test subject by career, I just like to mix up my usual routine by screwing with physics with my bud. Of course he assures me that the experiment is "totally safe" and will "probably have no side effects," but I know better. Whenever we do stuff, Murphy's Law floats around like a dark cloud following us everywhere. Still though, we have managed to come through every challenge we have faced so far including but not limited to: bringing a serial killer to justice, surviving seven separate assassination attempts (turns out oil companies don't like you when you invent fusion technology for cheap, who'd have thought?), stopping a group of neo-nazis bent on world domination, High School, etc. You get the idea. The only reason I even agreed to visit him today was because he claimed to have perfected a gift for me that he had been working on for ages. Ugh... what I won't do for a friend. I am Kurt G. Eisenhower, (yes, like the president) and you may want to strap in and hold on because this is unlike anything you have ever seen.. or read... or whatever... just shut up and listen will you?

Equestria: near the Everfree Forest

A deafening cacophony of noise startled Fluttershy from her sleep in the middle of the night, and even though she hid under her blankets, the vibrations from downstairs shook her to her core. In less than a second since it had started, the rumbling and crashing noises ground to a halt. Fluttershy timidly poked her head out to see if it was safe. '_Oh my goodness_,' she thought, '_what could have made such a terrible ruckus?_' She cautiously edged out from under her covers, but no sooner had her hoof touched the floor near her bed than a large shape careened through her window rolling across her floor and skidding to a halt at her feet. "Eep!" she squealed, frantically backpedaling away from whatever it was that now rested at the foot of her bed. After a solid minute of cowering, it became clear that whatever it was, it was not going to be getting up any time soon. She inched closer to the still figure. Much to her surprise, it was a pony laying at her feet, and a terribly injured one at that. Blood was already pooling on the hardwood floor.

Much of it's figure was concealed behind Fluttershy's curtains and various rubble, so she could not get a very good look at it. From what she could see, this young stallion was a pegasus had a black coat with a silver mane, tail, and even the tips of his badly broken and smoking wings. Fluttershy knew she had to get help immediately. By this point the bunny Angel, who had awoken along with Fluttershy, was cautiously approaching the downed stallion. "Angel, you have to go get Twilight," Fluttershy said, "She is the only pony who can help me stabilize him long enough to get him to the clinic!" Angel snapped to attention and saluted Fluttershy before dashing off into the night.

"Ohmygoodness, ohmygoodness, I need to get my medical supplies!" Fluttershy dashed downstairs only to find another terribly injured pony at the base of her stairs. This one was a gray-green pegasus with a blond mane and tail. He appeared to have crashed through the front door and he seemed to be in a state similar to the first stallion, though it seemed that he had fewer cuts. Fluttershy frantically scavenged her medical supplies from the rubble and scrambled back up the stairs. '_I have to stop the bleeding of the first one before I can focus on the green one._' she thought. Fluttershy quickly began removing the rubble from around the injured pony. Fluttershy carefully removed tattered curtains from around the stallion's head only to gasp in shock as she discovered that this was no pegasus, he was an alicorn! '_But I thought the only alicorns were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?_' she pondered for but a moment before returning to the task at hand. After a few minutes of intensive bandaging and removal of shards of glass, Fluttershy heard rapid hoofbeats coming toward her cottage.

"Fluttershy! Are you alright?" Twilight yelled into the now ruined cottage, still sprinting as fast as she could go.

A soft voice replied, "Yes Twilight, I am alright, but these ponies need our help, and there is something you need to see."

Twilight entered through the wreckage of the doorway to see the green pegasus lying unconscious on the floor, but his wounds had already been bandaged, so she ventured up the stairs. Twilight froze in shock to see Fluttershy cradling an injured alicorn in her lap.

"Wha- but... who...?" Twilight sputtered in confusion.

"I don't know who these ponies are, but we need to help them," Fluttershy pleaded, "Please."

With that Twilight nodded in agreement before focusing her magical energy into her horn. Once she had enough, she shot the condensed healing energy into the broken alicorn. Before their very eyes, the gashes began healing and the broken bones in his wings reset themselves. Twilight panted from the expenditure of energy before running back downstairs to repeat the spell on the pegasus.

The black alicorn stirred and Fluttershy stroked his mane and whispered, "Shhh, don't worry. You'll be alright."

Earlier the same day:

Research facility in Tennessee

"Hey egghead!"

Jet looked up from his calculations just in time to get pegged in the face with a Nerf dart.

"Gotcha!"

Jet laughed at his best friend Kurt's antics.

"Took you long enough to get here. I had almost given up hope!"

Kurt grinned impishly. "I got here on time, just had to take a minute to chat with that secretary of yours." He laughed, "Seriously though, how does a nerd like you end up with such a smoking secretary?

Jet chuckled, "Oh you know, the womans... they find me irresistible, and besides, who are you to call me a nerd? Sure, I am a scientist, but you a a video game designer. I should think that our professions are about equally as nerdy."

Kurt countered, "No way, my job is waaaaaaaaaay cooler than yours. I get to blow stuff up all of the time!"

"Yeah sure, whatever helps you sleep at night man," Jet shook his head while chuckling knowing that this argument was absolutely pointless.

The two men were both in their late 20s, but they had known each other most of their lives. They are as close as they were since grade school, and twice as immature (which is saying a whole lot). Even though they have different professions, they would occasionally take a break from whatever project they were working on to help the other one out. Usually Kurt would be the one to help Jet out by asking the obvious questions that helped pinpoint flaws that Jet had a habit of over looking. Whereas Jet would come up with crazy ideas no one else would conceive of as possible. All in all, they made a great team.

Jet stood at about six foot three, and pale as Dracula, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black hoodie which he had recently purchased with a black lab-coat over it and his sleeves rolled up to the elbows. The hoodie sported the symbol of the Hero of Space from the web-comic Homestuck. The black hoodie and coat accentuated his naturally slim build as well as his short naturally silver hair. Kurt, on the other hand, stood thick and solid at six feet tall with a blond crew cut. He also wore his customary blue jeans along with his favorite shirt. An original Halo: Combat Evolved T-Shirt which was a dull green with the Halo symbol emblazoned on the chest.

"Man, every time I see you, you are wearing that stupid Homestuck hoodie."

"Hey back off! Jade is totally awesome. I am proud to wear the symbol of the Hero of Space." Jet posed looking dramatically off into the distance.

"NEEEEERD."

"Well you don't see me mocking your fashion choices," Jet responed.

"Duh, because Halo is only the most super-amazing-epic-boss-tastic thing ever to grace the earth!"

"Well...OK. You've got me there," They both laughed.

"Anyway, what did you need me for again?" Kurt finally asked once they stopped laughing.

"Oh yeah! OK, you may want to sit down." Jet warned.

"Is it really that awesome?"

"You bet it is! I only managed to finally create an inter-dimensional storage device!"

Kurt's mouth fell open, and he fell back against the desk.

"You mean, you-"

"Darn straight I did!"

"So can I-"

"Why did you think I invited you over?"

"Are you going to-"

"Let you finish a sentence some time today...maybe?"

Kurt and Jet looked at each other grinning, excitement shining in their faces. Jet had been working on this project for over a decade, and the possibilities that this advancement offered were limitless.

"So, would you mind explaining what is does exactly?" Kurt asked after a moment of silence.

"Sure. Basically, this device here," gesturing to a large gray box on his desk. "creates a portal to another dimension. So far every dimension has been absolutely devoid of life, so we can just put our excess stuff there, and no one minds at all!"

"Wow, so you can store an almost infinite amount of stuff in one of these things?"

"Essentially."

"That is great and all, but what did you need me for?"

"Well, we found one dimension that was NOT devoid of life. It has a breathable atmosphere and gravity comparable to earth. It has vegetation as well, but we aren't sure past that."

"... and?"

"And I was wondering if you would like to take a look at it with me."

Kurt's eyes suddenly grew bigger at the thought of exploring a totally alien dimension, "That. Sounds. Dangerous. Sign me up!"

"So I take it you are interested?" Jet asked sarcastically.

"You bet I am! Just one question."

"Shoot."

"How the heck are we supposed to fit in that tiny box?" Kurt asked lifting an eyebrow.

Jet chuckled for a moment, rolling his eyes, and then replied, "We aren't. I have all sorts of neat little surprises for you lying around. Now then, if you'll follow me."

Jet rose from his seat at the desk and led Kurt over to a blank wall. After giving Kurt a cheeky grin as if to say, 'watch this!' he placed his hand against one of the bricks. Almost instantly the wall disappeared exposing a new room with walls lined with strange looking machines. Most prominent among the technology was what appeared to be a large metal doorway. After Kurt got over this revelation, he followed Jet into the room who stopped at a table strewn with various bits of metal and circuitry. He started shifting through the mess and after a moment produced what appeared to be two watches.

"You are going to love this thing. It took a good 4 years to develop, but it is without a doubt one of the best things I have ever made!" Jet bragged.

"Wow," Kurt said with dripping sarcasm, "you invented a watch! Now we will all hail your epicness for sure."

"Cheeky bugger... this is no watch, it is actually a different type of storage device. I think it will be easiest to explain by showing you."

Jet then slipped the device onto his arm and after securing it twisted it once. Instantly a strange black liquid spread out from it covering Jets body in a matter of moments. Once he was totally covered, the liquid solidified into a sort of flexible armor straight out of a science fiction complete with a mask and visor. Kurt's jaw practically scraped the floor.

"So what do you think of it? This is only one of the features, too! After you put it on, you will actually have a holographic display only visible to yourself, though you can make it visible. It actually bonds with your nervous system so that you can control some of it by thought alone."

Kurt simply sat in awe for a moment, and then asked one very important question. "I can haz for keepsies?"

Jet almost doubled over laughing at his friend's lolspeak and handed over the device to Kurt. Kurt quickly put it on saying, "It took you long enough to invent this, we only planned on it when we were what? In the sixth grade?" Kurt activated it the same way Jet had, only the liquid was more olive-greenish. Once the armor settled into place, he noticed that his armor was dramatically different from Jet's. His was a much thicker and heavier compound and was stylized after the Mk. VI MJOLNIR armor from the Halo series. Upon noticing the similarities, Kurt scooped Jet up into a bear hug, lifting him off the ground and swinging him around.

"OK, I'm glad you like it so much! I figured I should customize our suits to our personalities. Yours is ridiculously tough and increases your strength 10 fold. Whereas mine enhances my speed and agility. It is a good thing I installed the kinetic dampeners though, otherwise you would have just crushed my rib cage!"

"Did I ever tell you that you are the very best friend that anyone could ever ask for?" Kurt asked after finally depositing Jet back on the ground.

"Well, now you have, but we need to stop fooling around," Jet deactivated his armor and continued, "We can't stay in these for too long at a time because of the stress it puts on your body, plus it drains the batteries."

"Ah, I see. So we should save it for if we need it?" turning off his armor in suit.

"Exactly. Now that that has been cleared up, shall we?" gesturing towards the metal doorway.

"My thoughts exactly!" Kurt walked up to the device, while Jet flipped a few switches and typed in a couple of commands into a computer. Once that was done Jet joined his friend in front of the doorway.

Kurt waited for something to happen, but nothing came. Not flash of light, no mysterious looking portal, not even a distortion in the air. He looked over at Jet with a confused look on his face, but Jet just gave him that same smile and motioned him forward.

"Now you should know, we will be atomized for about 30 seconds before arriving on the other side." Jet said languidly.

Kurt backpedaled rapidly, "WHAT! YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABO-"

Jet shoved Kurt into the doorway laughing and quickly followed after him. To any observer it looked like they simply winked out of existence, and they did indeed have an observer. This observer deactivated his cloak and calmly walked over to the computer. This mysterious person made a few quick adjustments to Jet and Kurt's destination and then turned off the whole machine. He turned and began speaking in a low tone, "It's done... No, I wasn't seen... You can pick it up whenever you please, they won't be coming back any time soon... No, unfortunately they took those with them... Alright, over and out."

****END CHAPTER 1****


	2. Chapter 2

Equestria: the Everfree Forest

All was calm in the Everfree Forest that night when all of a sudden, Kurt and Jet appeared in a violent flash of light and sound. They both sat on the ground coughing and wheezing for a moment before Jet regained his composure. "Travel sickness... bluh. If you can't see, are feeling nauseous, have a pounding headache, or are really thirsty, don't worry. This is normal, and the symptoms will pass."

"Ugh... remind me to never use you as a travel agent ever again."

After a moment's pause Jet mumbled, "Huh, this is strange..."

"Wha.. *cough cough*... what do you mean?"

"That was not at all how atomization is supposed to feel. I feel... strange now."

"Oh please, don't say that our atoms got mixed up... I am going to kill you if you do."

Both of them sat there in the pitch black of night waiting for their eyes to adjust to the new light level. Jet, who was practically nocturnal due to his research binges he would occasionally go on, adjusted first. Upon seeing himself and Kurt, he said one thing: "Oh..."

"'Oh' what? I don't like the sound of that 'oh' one bit." Kurt rubbed his eyes, trying to massage his temples with his fingers only to discover that he didn't have any. Instead he had two hooves. "What?" he turned to Jet for guidance.

"I have no clue as to how or why this just happened, but it looks like you have wings now. Wait a second... no way..." then Jet started convulsing with fits of laughter.

"What is so friggin funny? Am I a horse! Although I will say that having wings is pretty boss, but ...A HORSE!" His eyes finally adjusting themselves Kurt looked at Jet. "It looks like you have wings too, but you have some weird horn on your forehead."

Jet straightened up and examined his wings and horn, "The heck? I'm an alicorn? That is a twist. Anyway, as to why I was laughing, I don't suppose you ever watched any of those My Little Pony videos I sent you?"

"What? No! Maybe... a little...That stuff is for little girls though and I can't believe you would watch such tripe, much less trick me into watching it! How does that even relate to... oh..."

"Yeah, 'oh,' indeed."

Jet and Kurt sat and attempted to understand their current situation. They were now in Equestria, the land of ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and much more.

Kurt asked, "So are we still gonna explore or are we gonna head home? Personally I didn't sign up for a species change, so home sounds great until you can figure out what went wrong."

"Yeah, I think it might be best if we head home for now and then come back later, better prepared."

"Good idea, wonder why I didn't think of it."

Jet looked around for a moment in confusion, frantically searching for something that simply wasn't there. "What's wrong now?" Kurt asked, sighing in frustration.

Jet whipped around to look Kurt dead in the eyes, "The portal is not here, and I don't know why. It should be sitting directly behind us, and it is not. It looks like we are stuck here."

"If this is your idea of a prank, then you have one sick sense of humor man."

"I only wish that it was a prank."

"Well... crap."

"Yep."

Jet pondered on their situation for a moment before turning to his friend, "I think I may know how all this," gesturing to their new bodies, "happened."

"Care to enlighten me?" Kurt asked spitefully.

"Each dimension has a type of radiation that is specific to it, if anything from another dimension comes into contact with it, the results are... unpredictable to say the least. Usually, the foreign matter explodes, but in some cases, it changes into a new form." Jet explained.

"Seeing as how we didn't explode, I guess we are the latter?"

"Exactly, but I am baffled as to how this happened! I had safeguards in the device to prevent this from happening, but they must have been turned off while we were in transit."

"You think someone turned off the safeguards in attempt to kill us? That would explain the sudden lack of a way back." Kurt observed.

"Why does this always happen to us?"

"Tell me about it... you don't think it's that oil company again?"

"Nah, more likely it's communists."

The two friends sat there glumly for about five minutes, neither saying anything. Finally Kurt broke the silence, "Well, we had better get used to these bodies then, shouldn't we?" With that he stood up shakily on all four legs. Jet slowly nodded and followed in suit.

"This isn't so bad actually, it just takes some getting used to." They started slowly walking around the clearing getting a feel for their new bodies. "Holy crap man, try stretching your wings, it feels awesome!" Jet exclaimed. Kurt gave it a try and was surprised at the warmth that coursed through his back. Like he had been in the same position for to long and was getting in a nice stretch.

"We should be able to fly with these right? Care to give it a try?"

"Sure, why not. It will also let us see where we are so we can formulate a plan from here."

"Last to clear the trees is a rotten egg!" with that Kurt leaped into the air beating his wings madly.

Jet sighed, "Really? You are that immature?" Jet then extended his wings and began flapping them rhythmically, gradually increasing his pace until he gracefully rose off the forest floor. While he wasn't moving as fast as Kurt, he was steadily rising faster and faster, whereas Kurt's progress was erratic in comparison. They cleared the trees at almost the same time and kept rising higher, trying to find some kind of landmark. Jet then noticed a few lights in the distance, "That must be Ponyville!"

"What? How could you possibly know that is Ponyville?"

"Come on man, at least try to be a bit genre savvy! We just got portal'd to Equestria, where do you think we are going to end up? Even if it is not Ponyville, we need to find shelter."

Kurt grumbled beneath his breath. By now his wing beats were as even and graceful as Jet's. "Well, it is some kind of civilization, so we had better head that direction."

Neither of the stallions noticed the large rogue storm cloud floating behind them. They started to fly in the direction of the town, staying close together so that they wouldn't lose one another in the night. Kurt noticed the growing number of dark clouds in the sky. It seemed as if the stars were being blotted out one by one. Suddenly a bolt of lightning cracked from the cloud above and behind them, striking Jet's wing knocking him out cold and causing him to careen into Kurt. Their wings became tangled and they soon found themselves plummeting toward the ground, spinning out of control. At the last moment, Kurt freed himself and pushed himself free. Trying to slow Jet's descent, he flew under him, supporting their combined weight, and had almost stopped their dive when a second bolt of lightning struck his right wing tip. Kurt's last thought before blacking out was, '_Dang it Murphy_.'

Ponyville Medical Clinic

Kurt groaned as he slowly cracked open his eyes only to find his vision totally obscured by a pair of maroon eyes staring back at him, mere inches from his face. A cyan pegasus with rainbow colored mane and tail hovered above him. "Umm... Can I help you?" he said, totally confused.

"How about telling me your name cutie?" Rainbow Dash asked, setting down next to the bed. "It is good to see that you are improving though. You've been asleep for the whole day."

"Wow, talk about a power nap." Taking his time to admire this other pony, and stretch a little. _'Not bad, for a horse... maybe I can still find some...entertainment in this dimension too.'_ Noticing that Rainbow Dash was still waiting for an answer he quickly blurted, "My name is Kurt, by the way," grinning up at her. "And what might your name be?"

"I am Rainbow Dash! Only the fastest flier in all of Equestria!" she responded, totally unabashed at her bragging.

"Wow, I leave you alone for one minute and here you are hitting on the first thing you lay eyes on," Jet had awoken as well and heard most of the exchange. Rainbow blushed lightly, while Jet and Kurt chuckled and winced as the laughter brought on fresh pain. "Now see what you made me do?"

"Well, seeing as how you two are both awake now, I'm gonna grab my friends so they can come meet you!" Rainbow didn't wait for a response and quickly exited the room. This gave Kurt and Jet a chance to examine themselves, only to find that they were covered with bandages, mostly concentrated on their wings.

"OK, now then down to business. What is our story going to be?" Kurt asked.

"Well, I don't think lying to them is a good idea, but if we tell them the truth, we may exit this clinic only to be taken to a mental hospital."

"Good point. Hmm... how about the old amnesia act?"

"Nah, that never works out. I've read enough fan fiction to know that the 'amnesia act' will only end badly."

"Wait, you mentioned earlier that we can make our holographic screens visible to others. We could use that as proof!"

Jet sat totally shocked that he hadn't thought of that same solution. "Brilliant! Now to see if we can't get these working without fingers." he said motioning to the watch-like devices which they still wore.

"You said it was thought activated though."

"Yeah, but I have no clue if that will still work with our new physiology. The only way to find out is to try." With that, Jet tapped his device once and closed his eyes in concentration. After a moment, a holographic screen appeared in midair in front of Jet. "Yes!" The screen dissipated and Jet said, "Well now we have our proof. Let's see if we can't get that far in the conversation first."

No sooner had he finished his sentence, the door burst open and a pink comet began bouncing around the room followed by five calmer ponies.

"Consarnit' Pinkie Pie, you're gonna scare our guests here tah death with all o' your bouncin' around!" Applejack grumbled. It was apple bucking season, and she was missing out on valuable work time. After one more lap around the room, Pinkie Pie settled down next to Applejack, almost vibrating with poorly contained energy.

"We would like to welcome you both to Ponyville. We are so glad that you are recovering so quickly!" Twilight said. "To be honest, when I first saw the state that you two were in, I didn't have much hope that you could pull through."

"Well, we are glad we could disappoint you in that regard." Jet smiled wryly.

"I-I-I didn't mean that-"

"It's alright, I was only playing around." Twilight sighed in relief at this. "How rude of me I have yet to introduce myself. I am Jet Black, but please call me Jet."

"And I am Kurt G. Eisenhower, but the ladies all call me Kurt." Kurt winked saucily at the group of ponies, who blushed and fidgeted slightly. Rarity snorted in derision at the shameless display.

"I am called Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends: Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and I think you have already met Rainbow Dash." Twilight said, pointing to each of her friends in turn."

"Those are definitely some interesting name you have," Rarity mused.

Kurt told them, "Yeah, in case you hadn't already guessed, we are not from around here."

"We-figured-that-much-because-we-had-never-heard-of-another-alicorn-in-all-of-Equestria-but-that-means-you-are-new-here-so-that-means-you-have-no-friends-so-that-means-I-have-to-throw-a-party-for-you-so-you-can-make-lots-and-lots-of-friends! Yay!" Kurt stared in awe of the sudden deluge of words issuing from Pinkie Pie. Since he had never seen her in action, he had no way of preparing for that much condensed happiness and laughter.

Jet, on the other hand, merely cracked that same smile and replied, "That sure sounds like a lot of fun, but we do have to get better first." Pinkie Pie's smile drooped ever so slightly. "But then it can be a celebration of our health as well. However before you get carried away planning for our party, we do have some very important information to discuss with you all."

Pinkie Pie was about to start up again, but Twilight cut her off, asking, "And what business might that be?"

"Several things actually. One: How can we repay you for your kindness towards us?"

"Oh think nothing of it, really."

"No way. From what little I can remember about the accident, I think I may have crash landed in someo- I mean somepony's house." Jet mentally berated himself for the slip up.

Fluttershy looked up timidly and spoke for the first time, "You both crashed into my cottage, but... you know... it's not that big of a deal..." her voice grew quieter with each word.

Jet sat straight up in bed and rolled out from under the blankets. He took a moment to make sure he could actually bear the pain of standing before walking right up to Fluttershy. Jet then leaned down to her and said, "I couldn't bear the pain of knowing that I ruined your home and did nothing to help fix it. Please, let us help you." Jet looked into Fluttershy's eyes and she gazed back into his. The moment was shattered as Nurse Redheart walked in and gasped at the sight of an alicorn that was so badly injured that it shouldn't be able to move, much less walk, towering over little Fluttershy.

"What do you think you are doing? You need to rest right now!" Nurse Redheart ushered him back to the bed where he laid down, glad to be relieved of the pain. "And you all need to leave as well so that these ponies can get some rest," she motioned for everyone else to leave. Even as the Mane 6 were leaving, two ponies in particular couldn't help but glance back every now and then.

Rainbow Dash was the last to leave the room, but as she was about to pass through the doors, Kurt called out flirtatiously, "Catch you later Dashie!" Rainbow blushed again and sped out the door.

Later in the day, Nurse Redheart was recounting the incident to Doctor Whooves when she realized that the entire time that the dark alicorn had been looming over Fluttershy, she didn't cower or cringe. If anything, she seemed to lean in closer.

****END OF CHAPTER 2****


	3. Chapter 3

The Next Morning

Nurse Redheart was checking up on the patients the next morning when much to her surprise she found Kurt and Jet out of bed and apparently in the peak of health. She was totally baffled as to this unexpected development since the injuries that these ponies had should have taken weeks if not months to recover from fully. "What do you think you two are doing out of bed?" she demanded.

"Hm?" Jet hadn't noticed her entrance till she spoke up. "Oh, yeah. We are really fast healers, so I guess we'll be going now."

"Uh, yeah. What he said," echoed Kurt.

They quickly strode past the flabbergasted nurse and walked outside before she could question them further. Kurt only pausing to give a flirtatious wink on the way out. "Now do you agree with me that the nanite enhanced immuno reconstructors were worth it?" Jet whispered to his friend.

"I have to admit that I am impressed at how quickly we healed, but I still don't like getting stuck with needles full of your creepy little machines!" Kurt shuddered at the memory. "By the way, you should really work on a better name for that."

"Duly noted. I'm just glad that they survived the transition and didn't try to reconstruct our bodies with human anatomy. THAT would have been a little difficult to explain."

Kurt grimaced at the thought of having his insides look like a jigsaw puzzle of various organs. "Don't even talk like that. Ugh... I'm getting nauseous again. Why is it you always have to come up with the most disgusting things?"

"It's not my fault you tried to envision it." Jet retorted.

As they had talked, they walked towards the center of town. Purposefully ignoring the double takes that Jet's horn and wings combo were earning them.

"I assume you know where you are going?" Kurt asked. He smirked as he saw a gray mare with a blond mane fly into a sign.

"We are heading to the library. Twilight Sparkle lives there and she should be able to teach me how to use magic. Also, she is the most intelligent of the ponies, so she will probably take our explanation the best," he explained. "That is if we even get that far in our conversation."

"And how does this help me?" Kurt asked.

"She'll probably know where to find Rainbow. I assume you would like to learn to fly more, and from what I saw, you two will have plenty to... _talk_ about." Jet gave Kurt a sly wink.

"You know it! Since we have these new bodies, I guess she could teach me a bit about _body language_, if ya get my drift," Kurt waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jet laughed, "You are absolutely incorrigible my good friend!"

"Wow, impressive use of a five star word..." Before Jet could come up with a retort, Kurt interrupted him, "So, what is the plan of attack for our story when we get there?"

"I say we try to divulge as little as possible at this point, but if they press us for answers... I guess we will just have to be vague for now. Just let me do the talking, and if all goes well, they should train us in our new found abilities."

"What makes you so sure they are going to train us instead of turning us in again?"

"I have a plan...mostly. Just try to stay quiet in the corner and be as inconspicuous as possible."

"Inconwhat?"

Jet would have replied, had they not reached a huge tree with a door and several windows adorning its surface. A balcony looked out from one of the upper levels. One could see the books covering the walls and littered about the floor.

"Looks like we are here! Too bad I can't educate you further on the use of English." Jet said smugly.

"Yeah? Well screw you, and your horse. Oh wait, you ARE a horse!"

"We're ponies. Get it right." Jet chuckled. "Shall we then?"

"I'll give you a pony," muttered Kurt under his breath.

Meanwhile Inside the Library

Twilight and her friends lounged in her room discussing the newcomers. "I still can't get over how divine Jet's mane is!" Rarity fawned. "The sheen of his coat is simply amazing, and this is after he has crashed through a house!"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of that green pegasus, Eisen-whatshisname." Applejack sighed. "Did you see his flanks?"

"Heck yeah I did! And his name is Kurt G. Eisenhower! Get it right!" Rainbow vehemently informed Applejack.

"I wonder what their talents are," mused Twilight, "I've never seen cutie marks like they have."

"Who cares? Jet is such a gentleman... mmmhmmmmm. What I wouldn't give to bring him home..." Rarity's eyes lost focus as she thought about the black alicorn.

"I don't know Rarity, I think he would rather go home with Fluttershy." Pinkie quipped.

"What?" Fluttershy gasped. "Wh-why would you think that? I mean... do you really think so?"

"Come to think of it, you two were making googly eyes at each other at the clinic." Rainbow said.

Before any of them could speculate further, they were interrupted by a knock on the door downstairs. Twilight groaned, "It's a library! Why does everypony always knock?" She trudged downstairs to the door. "Please come inside," Twilight opened the door with her magic. She was taken totally off guard when the two stallions that they had been discussing were standing there looking to be in the peak of health. She thought she heard Kurt mutter something that sounded suspiciously like, "That's what she said," but it was too soft to tell.

"Nice to see you again Twilight." Jet nodded at her amicably.

"L-likewise, but how did you two manage to get better so quickly?"

"Oh, you'll come to find that we are just full of surprises." Jet winked slyly, and Kurt chuckled at the carelessly placed innuendo. Jet scowled at him as if trying to remind him of his previous request, Kurt just rolled his eyes. "Don't worry though, many of your questions will soon be answered. Now then, where are your friends? I'd rather only explain this once as opposed to repeating myself over and over."

"They are upstairs, just let me go get them real fast." Twilight streaked up the stairs into her room. "Oh my gosh! They are here!"

"Who is here, darling?" asked Rarity.

"Jet and Kurt!" Twilight blurted out, "And they want to talk to all of us."

Rarity practically flew to the mirror to check her mane. "This would be the day I forgot the hairspray in my purse," she pouted openly.

"Rarity, we don't have time for this. We need to get downstairs. They are going to tell us their story." Twilight practically hissed trying to whisper yell so the newcomers would not hear her up here.

The ponies quickly gained their composure and ventured down into the main room of the library. Twilight's assistant, Spike, heard the hoofbeats on the stairs, but disregarded the noise and continued his work cataloguing the various books in the library.

"Nice to see you all aga-" Jet began.

"It's great to see you both! Can we have a party now that you are feeling better?" Pinkie Pie interrupted.

"Girl needs to lay off the caffeine for a while," Kurt muttered to Jet. who promptly elbowed him in the side.

"I suppose a party could be arranged, but for now we have more important matters at han- er hoof. I assume that you all have questions for us, and we shall answer them to the best of our abilities."

"As to the question I am usually asked first...Yes, I will be the best you've ever OW!" Kurt was quickly silenced by a smack upside the back of his head by Jet.

"So as to limit Kurt's outbursts, would you each ask one question, and we will then answer them all at the end?"

Twilight spoke up first, "I guess the first obvious question to ask would be where are you from?"

Applejack followed, "How did you get here?"

Fluttershy then asked, "How did you get better so quickly?"

"What do your cutie marks mean?" Pinkie pondered.

"What are those anklet's you are both wearing?" Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash was the only one left and all eyes turned on her. She gulped and blurted out, "KURT WOULD YOU GO OUT WITH ME? ..."

Kurt was legitimately caught off guard, and actually double blinked, the only sign of his surprise. _'Well now, this could get _**very**_ interesting indeed.'_ But he decided to just give a cocky smile and hold his answer... for the time being. He did however allow himself to give her a sly wink, making her blush furiously.

"Um, Rainbow...?" Fluttershy inquired.

"WHAT! I like to be direct! I don't beat around the bush like someponies I know." With this Rainbow Dash gave a pointed look to Fluttershy.

Jets eyes widened, and suddenly a soft message played in the back of Kurt's head just as he was about to open his mouth to say something. "New text received from Jet" it whispered quietly. Kurt blinked his eyes to open the text that Jet must have sent him through their watches. _'Being able to use your mind to control these thing is so cool'_ thought Kurt as he opened the message. "I swear, if you make some sort of innuendo about that last statement... " Kurt had to stifle a laugh. His friend knew exactly where his mind had gone and had quickly put an end to his train of thought. "I'm a still think one," Kurt text back, getting an audible sigh from Jet.

"I guess we will answer your questions in the order you gave them. Please hold any questions that you think of during our explanation till the end. Thank you," Jet took a deep breath to prepare himself for this ridiculous expositional bonanza.

"We are from a very distant land which we call America. We both hail from the eastern part of the state of Tennessee. It is very likely that you have never heard of these places because we arrived here via an experimental device. It was actually invented for storage purposes, but it proved to be a means of teleportation as well. We came through, and have become stranded. We healed so quickly because of nanoscopic machines which flow in our bloodstream that are made to speed up the healing process exponentially. Our cutie marks are actually references to two large cultural icons where we are from. It would take ages to explain the full meaning of them, but suffice it to say that we are very talented and skilled individuals at whatever we put our minds to. These 'anklets' are actually another type of experimental device that contain miniature computers that are linked to our nervous system and can deploy a protective armor in case of emergency. As to your question Dash, I'll leave that up to Kurt." Jet finished his spiel and looked at the ponies to judge their reactions.

With another smirk Kurt replied, "I don't normally make a habit of _Formally_ dating any one, but we can see where things go from here...that is, if your willing to help us."

"Help you how?" Rainbow asked without hesitation.

"You are getting ahead of yourself Kurt, they don't even know why we need help." Jet said.

"Then tell them already, the suspense in this room is thick enough to cut with a butter knife."

"Alright, sheesh, no need to be so dramatic about it." Jet sighed. "Before I move on, any questions?"

Twilight spoke up first again, "I've never heard of a place called America or Tennessee, and I've studied the geography of our entire world! Also, I don't know of any place where the technology is nearly that advanced. It sounds almost like you've been reading too many science fiction novels!"

"I take no offense at your claim, but the answer will surprise you. Though you've no doubt already considered it... We are not from you planet. This also brings me to our reason we need your help. We were not always ponies." Jet paused for a moment to let this sink in before continuing, "These bodies are quite new and strange to us, and we would like to ask for your help to learn how to use them properly."

"Or, in a less nerdy way for the rest of us...we don't belong hear and we aren't supposed to be ponies, but here we are and we're trying to make the best of it, and if you could help us learn about our new bodies it would be highly appreciated." Kurt interjected.

"Essentially, we would like to be taught how to live as a pony would. How to fly, use magic, correct etiquette, etc." Jet added, "Also, we will need places to stay until can either make a living for ourselves or find a way home."

The ponies stood there stunned at this revelation and plea for their help. Applejack shook off her stupor first and asked, "Would you mind if we discussed this first?"

"Not at all. We'll be waiting outside." Jet replied. He and Kurt quietly exited, but not before Kurt gave one last wink to Rainbow Dash on the way out.

Once the door closed, the ponies all turned to face each other in silence. This time Fluttershy broke the silence, "I... I think we should help them. They are lost and far away from their home."

"Well, I don't know Fluttershy. I ain't too keen on taking an alien into my home." Applejack shook her head, "I get the feeling that they are holding back something."

"That's not entirely fair, they have been nothing but polite to us since they crashed into my house," Fluttershy retorted.

"Well, Jet has been polite at least. I can't say the same for Kurt." Rarity commented.

"You're just jealous that he didn't notice you first I think," Rainbow Dash shot in instant defence of Kurt.

"I like them! They are neat and new! Plus, since they are new in town they don't have any friends, so we should be their friends! Don't ya think?" Pinkie spouted.

Twilight listened in a sort of detached amusement at here friend's conversing. _'Those two have only been here for only two days, and they have already split my friends practically in half in opinions of them. If I don't get control of the situation, I may have a full blown riot on my hands.'_ "Alright listen up, I'm making a command decision here, and as the majority of you seem to be in favor of them staying than we will help them for now."

"Yeah-this-is-going-to-be-great-I-need-to-get-started-on-the-plans-for-the-party-right-away!" Pinkie Pie fired of in her rapid excited way. She then dashed upstairs to start her plans for the event.

"You may need to but a leash on her or she'll decorate the entire town for this party," Rainbow Dash remarked. This earned a sharp glance from Twilight. "What? We were all thinking it, I'm just saying..."

"Needless to say this is going to cause quite a stir, so who are they going to stay with?" Twilight asked.

"I'll take Kurt," Rainbow blurted almost without pause, having awaited this question.

"Are you quite sure that's a good idea sugar cube?" questioned Applejack.

"Yeah, you've made it pretty obvious you like him." Twilight stated. "You think you can control yourself?"

"It's not her control I'm worried about," muttered Rarity.

"Please Twilight, I have an extra bed to spare and he need a place anyway with _friendly_ company," with this she gives a scowl to Rarity, "Plus I can control myself and him, if necessary. Especially if his story is true and he is not used to his new body, he would be easy to overpower."

Twilight mulls this over for a full minute before finally nodding her consent to Rainbow Dash, who gives a huge victory grin. "Now what are we to do with the other one?"

At this everyone was surprised to hear Fluttershy speak loudly and clearly to the throng. "I'll take him! I am the only other one with an extra room, and I really don't mind."

"That is sweet Fluttershy, but you're staying in the Library yourself because of the destruction in your house, and that simply won't do," said Twilight. "Any other takers?" After several moments with no reply, Twilight sighed. "I'll guess we will just have to see where he would feel most comfortable staying and work it out from there." There were mutters of reluctant agreement, and then they all turned to bring them back in. Twilight had a thought nagging at the back of her head though, _'Why did Fluttershy asking for Jet to stay with her make her feel so...Jealous?'_

Outside the Library Minutes Earlier

"This is never going to work, they're going to turn us in for sure." exhaled Kurt.

"Be patient, they will figure this out in their own time until then we can only tell them what we know for sure, and answer any questions they through our way." Jet retorted.

"Pfff, whatever, they probably aren't to keen on taking aliens into their homes."

"You need to have more faith in your fellow man...or ponies...young padawan."

"Yes Nerdi-Wan." Kurt rolled his eyes, making Jet chuckle.

Jet shook his head and sighed, "You know we are going to have to cut down on the cultural references now right? No one here will get them, and if I have to explain every other sentence you utter, I may have to strangle you." Jet paused, "Actually now that I think about it, strangling would be quite difficult without fingers. Huh, I never realized how lethal opposable thumbs were."

"Speaking of lethal things, have you figured out if our armor will work on these bodies?" Kurt asked.

Jet winced, "Not yet, I really should have been doing that while we were healing, but I kinda fell asleep. However, I'll make that a priority once we get settled in."

The stallions sat there in silence waiting for their judgement to be rendered. After a moment, Jet piped up, "So... what are your opinions of Rainbow Dash?"

Kurt mulled the question over a moment before saying, "I think she knows what she wants, and is willing to go after it, but her need to maintain her friendships has held her back from achieving her greatest dreams...it is impressive that she has been able to maintain her psychiatric faculties, and reminds me of my past experiences always trying to live up to the expectations of my parents. I am taking it as a personal challenge to break her from her mental prison and reach her full potential...which I will then use to its fullest for my advantages I assure you."

"Wow, I was like, 'That is incredibly profound for you,' and than you finished and now I'm all 'FIGURES'." Jet sighed before continuing, "What you don't realize is that she represents the element of loyalty, so she will never give up on her friends. She puts other's needs above her own, and that is just who she is. You can't just 'break her from her mental prison.' You have to accept her for who she is."

"Meh, we'll see. Why do you ask anyway? Got your eye on anyone in particular?" Kurt asked bemusedly.

Jet blurted, "No! Why would I?"

"Uh huh... I know that look... Let me guess, Fluttershy?" Kurt grinned as Jet blushed at the mention of the name. "Looks like I'm right."

"Only half right," Jet mumbled.

"What was that...You like ANOTHER one?" Kurt chortled, "Ah, the star crossed lover! His heart eternally torn betwixt two ponies from another dimension! Woe is he!...wait. I thought we agreed years ago that I was supposed to be the playboy? What's with you liking two seperate...personages?"

"Will you keep it down!" Jet hissed, "I am already attracting enough attention with my horn and wings. We don't need you to go spouting off our origins to all of Ponyville. Besides, I'm not doing it intentionally, and I'm even trying to smother it the best I can, but it's difficult."

"Pffff...Whatever, chill out man. You're just mad that I pegged your feelings. So who is the other one?"

"I am not going to tell you." Jet huffed.

"We'll see about that..." Kurt threatened, but before their conversation could continue, the door opened slowly and they both entered back into the library, bracing themselves for the worst. The two friends returned to the gathering of ponies, minus Pinkie Pie who was making quite a ruckus upstairs. Twilight looked to each of her friends in turn before facing Jet and Kurt.

"We have decided to teach you," Twilight said with a friendly smile on her face, "Kurt will live with Rainbow Dash since she will be his main instructor anyway, but we have yet to decide where you should stay Jet. Do you have any requests?"

Jet and Kurt sighed in relief at the good news. Jet composed himself and explained, "It may be best for me to stay in the library if possible so that I can spend more time studying pony culture and magic. Would that be alright?"

"Normally I would agree, but Fluttershy is already using my spare bed."

"Ah, well that's OK. I don't mind sharing."

Dead silence fell on the room before Kurt fell over laughing. "You go dude," Kurt managed to get out between his guaffing. Jet looked at his friend totally confused. He then looked at the other ponies and saw them blushing, especially Fluttershy. After a brief pause he suddenly made the connection. "Oh... OH! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that like it sounded at all."

"Well I should hope not!" Applejack blustered.

"I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. You see, I am practically nocturnal due to the strange hours of my... occupation. What I meant was that Fluttershy could use the bed during the night, and when she woke up, I could then go to sleep," Jet explained, the blush fading from his face now, "It would also help to keep me from the public eye. I noticed on the way here that my being an alicorn attracted quite a bit of attention. I would rather not be gawked at everywhere I go, so sleeping during the day works just fine."

Twilight mulled over the solution, "That actually sounds like a good idea. I could instruct you about magic in the evening, and you could learn to fly from Rainbow in the mid afternoon."

"Uh uh! No way is that happening," Rainbow stated, "I nap through the afternoon. You should know that!"

"How about Kurt teaches me what you teach him? Then you can nap, and he gets extra practice." Jet compromised. Rainbow nodded in agreement. "This is great! I really can't thank you all enough for your kindness."

The mares all nodded speaking various "you're welcome"s and "think nothing of it"s. Applejack then spoke up, "Well, this is all fine and dandy, but I need to get back to work. I'm sure that you do as well Rarity."

"Yes indeed I do. It has been wonderful meeting you Jet," Rarity batted her eyes at the dark alicorn before turning to leave. As she and Applejack exited, Rarity glared at Kurt before turning her nose up at him.

Rainbow Dash slid up to Kurt and drawled, "Well, I guess I should show you around the town a bit, then you can come back to my place."

"Shouldn't you at least buy me dinner first?" Kurt replied cheekily. Rainbow grinned in return. They then exited the library as well. On their way out the door, Kurt could be heard to say, "I don't think Rarity likes me to much," to which they both chuckle.

Jet watched his buddy leave and noticed a new message on his holo display. It read, "Awwwwww yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhh... dat flank. :P" Jet couldn't restrain the magnetic pull his forehead suddenly had to his hoof. Twilight and Fluttershy gave him an odd look at the unexplained facehoof, but didn't ask about it.

"So when do we start?" Jet asked.

"There is no time like the present," Twilight responded.

****END CHAPTER 3****

**Author's Note: I am sad to say that this is the last chapter that my co-author has been able to write with me. Millennium 117 (don't bother looking him up, he hasn't published anything on here) is actually leaving for two years on a religious mission. He will be unavailable for the duration. This is kinda why it took so long to get this chapter out, and I apologize ahead of time for breaks between chapters in the future. Honestly, I wanted to make this chapter even longer, but it was starting to bog down, so I had to cut out quite a bit of detail. As always, please R&R. See you again soon. 8^y (it is a face)**


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